June 2008

June 27, 2008

Many thanks to my sister-in-law, Jane, for this idea. Jane loves caprese salad, and I love going to her house to eat it! Jane grows her own basil, and she always waits until the last minute to go outside and pick the fresh basil for her caprese salad which, I am sure, is why hers is always so good. Recently, my fabulous sister-in-law told me that she had made israeli couscous and added the elements of her caprese salad to it, and that it had been delicious. So, what could I do but copy her idea? I love the fresh flavors in this salad. For the dressing, I used just a splash of balsamic vinegar because I did not want all of the beautiful colors of the basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella to fade to brown. Also, the basil and tomatoes added enough sweetness to the dish without the added sweetness of balsamic vinegar. I like to make my dressing first, so that the garlic gets a chance to steep into the vinegar for a little while before the salad gets dressed.

Caprese Couscous

Serves Six

For the dressing:

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

1 t balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup of olive oil (Use a little more if you like your salad less tart)

1 large clove of garlic, chopped finely

salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/4 t of salt and 10 grinds black pepper)

salt and pepper to taste (I used about 3/4 t salt and 15 grinds black pepper)

Make the dressing: Combine all ingredients in a jar, screw on the top, and shake like crazy! Taste for seasoning. Set aside. You may not need all of this dressing.

Drain the cooked couscous and place it in a bowl in the fridge to chill while you prep the rest of the ingredients. I was in a hurry, so I actually had to put my caprese couscous in an ice water bath*** to chill before I could take it to the dinner party. After you chop your tomatoes, place them onto a couple of paper towels to drain the juices, and sprinkle with about 1/4 t salt. While those tomato juices are draining, chiffonade your basil. Mix all of your ingredients together except the dressing. Add the dressing slowly, using just enough to coat the couscous. You will probably have about 1/4 cup of dressing left to use on a salad later. Enjoy!

*Israeli couscous is much larger in size than traditional couscous. You can definitely find it in middle-eastern markets (in Memphis, on Park near Highland), and in Memphis you can also get it at the Fresh Market. It is much heartier than traditional couscous and can stand up to the coarsely chopped ingredients in this salad. I think it would also be great added to a hearty soup in the winter time. I would not substitute traditional couscous in this recipe, but you could use a small pasta shape, like orzo, if you cannot find israeli couscous.

** Somehow, my sad excuse for a neighborhood grocery store managed to have these little pearl-sized balls of mozzarella packed in water in the fancy cheese section. They are great, because you don't even have to cut them up, but you can always use any good quality mozzarella that you cut into small pieces yourself. I would definitely advise getting mozzarella packed in water, as it tends to taste better than the usually rubbery stuff that comes vaccum-packed.

***If you need to chill a dish faster than normal, an ice water bath is the way to go. Just get yourself a bowl that is at least the same size or a little larger than the bowl of stuff you want to chill, and fill about halfway with equal parts ice and water. Put your bowl of stuff into the ice water bath and let it sit, stirring every once in a while if you want to speed up the process even more. Works like a charm! This salad chilled in about five minutes instead of the hour it would have taken in the fridge.

June 24, 2008

We finally found tomatoes at the Memphis Farmer's Market! I thought it was still too early, but those good folks at the Jones Orchard booth had beautiful tomatoes this past weekend. We were also lucky enough (read: early enough) to get some fresh garlic from our favorite arugula guy. So, last night we decided to use both the tomatoes and the garlic in a corn salad to go with our grilled barbecue chicken for dinner. If that doesn't sound like a good southern summer dinner, then I just don't know what does! Corn, tomatoes, cooking on the grill...I love summertime. Our herb garden is thriving, so I was happy to have some fresh basil to pair with my corn- basil and corn are so good together, no matter what the dish. To top off all of my wonderful fresh ingredients, my friend Julie brought me some delicious champagne vinegar back from her recent trip to Napa , so I used that to season my corn salad. Thanks, Julie!

salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 t salt and 6 grinds black pepper)

For the corn: if you plan to grill the corn, the way I did, then you will need to soak it in water for about 30 minutes prior to grilling to keep the husks from burning off right away. I recommend throwing the ears on the grill over high heat for about 10 minutes. If you want more of a grilled flavor, you can take the husks off before grilling and let the corn get a little charred. I love corn this way.You can also just boil the corn if you prefer, so long as it's cooked!

For the salad: Combine all ingredients and taste for seasoning. Add a little more vinegar if you like it a little more tart, and season to taste with salt and pepper. I would recommend that your chopped items, with the exception of the garlic, be about the same size as kernels of corn. Enjoy all summer long!

*Tomatoes are super juicy, so when I am adding them to just about anything, I like to cut them, salt them, and then let them rest on paper towels for a few minutes to get some of that juice out. In this case, I went ahead and chopped them small for my salad before letting them rest.

**I apologize for my absence- I have been so lazy in the kitchen since I got pregnant! We have been eating out A LOT. I guess the abundance of summer has jarred me out of my cooking hiatus...thanks for your patience!